Senate accepts changes to TDCJ ‘sunset’ bill

The Senate on Saturday approved changes made in a conference committee to a bill that reauthorizes until 2021 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice but did not order closures of two state facilities.

Sen. John Whitmire’s Senate Bill 213 sets up a reentry task force that will “identify gaps in services for offenders following their release or discharge” related to employment, housing, substance abuse treatment and medical care. The proposal, which now heads back to the Texas House for concurrence and then to Gov. Rick Perry for approval, also requires several new annual reports from TDCJ, including information on inmate grievances and their resolutions.

The bill is silent, however, on the closure of two facilities that has been proposed this session – the Dawson Unit in Dallas and a pre-parole transfer unit in Mineral Wells. A rider on the state’s budget says that TDCJ should reduce bed capacity to cut costs, but disagreements over the budget proposal remains unresolved.